24 Hours Of Babysitting With Shawn Spencer
by HannaK108
Summary: Juliet has to babysit her 5 year old nephew for an entire day and night and ,after a little persuasion, Shawn is willing to help her with that. Shules, fluff, a tiny bit of angst and more fluff!
1. 12:00  13:00

**A/N: Once upon a time there was me working on a huuuge Shules fic. But it was kind of a dark story and I got a tiny little bit depressed writing it. Then my brother got a girlfriend and my sister a boyfriend. That made writing a sad Shules fic even more depressing for me somehow. Why am I telling you this? Because me feeling sad has this story as a result. It is happy Shules. I hope it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, because that was sort of my goal. It's a happy story for the biggest part anyway, I am still slightly evil from time to time...**

**As always and ever, a massive thanks to the pineapple to my smoothie, **_**Elize34**_** for being the best beta one could wish for. **

**Also: I still do not own Psych and I still have not found a way to alter history and arrange for myself to be born English. Hence, the grammar mistakes for which I can do nothing but apologize and try to make as less as possible.**

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><p>"Could you at least try to leave some cereal for me?" Juliet asked, glancing at her boyfriend who was sitting across the kitchen table and was just in the process of emptying the entire content of the box of cereal into his bowl.<p>

"But Jules", Shawn replied as he grabbed the milk and poured it over the cereal, "The only thing you have besides cereal are those healthy cracker biscuit things that look like carton and I'm fairly sure they taste like that as well."

"Well maybe I would be in the possession of basic things such as bread and cheese if a certain someone didn't come over all the time and eat about 99% of the food I have in my kitchen." She said.

"That's not fair Jules, you know I have to have my midnight snack, otherwise I get grumpy." Shawn said, his mouth full of cereal.

"And here I was thinking there was a whole other reason that you always wake up so happy in the morning after having spent the night here." Juliet said casually and chuckled when she saw Shawn's face flushing a faint color of red.

Shawn however soon recovered: "You have no right to talk Jules, you were practically begging me not to leave last night and spend the night with you."

"Did not."

"Oh please Shawn", Shawn begged in a high pitched voice that was supposed to resemble Juliet's, "Oh please do not leave me alone for I'd miss you so dearly. Would you please stay with me tonight? Please?"

"I have a different recollection" Juliet said, smiling and grabbing a cracker from the table.

"Anyway", she said after a while, eating the last of her cracker and simultaneously getting up from the table, "I should get the guest room ready."

Shawn looked at her with a shocked expression: "What are you banning me to the guest room for? Oh, I know, it's because of last night, isn't it? Just because I think the remake of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory is a disgrace to the original and you just happen to love Johnny Depp so much that you can't agree with me, does not mean you have ban me to the guest room. That's just harsh. Although now I think about it...if you tell me that you like Dirty Dancing 2 better than the original, it would most definitely make me reconsider our relationship not to mention..."

"SHAWN!" Juliet shouted, "You're doing it again."

"Do what?" Shawn asked innocently.

"Rambling."

"I never ramble Jules, I only provide the ignorant with very useful insights regarding human life. So, what do you wanna do on your day off? We could go back to bed, I'm feeling kind of sleepy to be honest."

"You really have the short term memory of a goldfish." Juliet replied, shaking her head as she turned around and walked to the guest room across the hall."

Shawn was quick to follow her: "Wait a minute, I thought you were joking about banning me to the guest room?" He asked, entering the guest room as well.

"It's not for you, it's for Jim. Remember? Jim my five year old nephew who is staying with me today and tonight because my cousin and her husband have a wedding in Santa Barbara?" Juliet often wondered if Shawn really didn't remember stuff she said to him or that he simply pretended to have forgotten them, but judging from the way he looked right now, it was the first option.

"You could have, like, mentioned this to me last night. I was under the impression you and I would spend your day off together."

Shawn really sounded disappointed and Juliet sighed, opened the closet to grab a pillow and said: "I've told you about ten times about Jim coming to stay with me, Shawn, it's not my fault that you only remember unimportant things and forget the things that do matter. "Shawn?" She added confused when she turned around with the pillow in her hand and saw he wasn't standing in the room anymore. Shawn?" She said again, this time sticking her head around the door to see if he was in the hallway. And sure, there he was, standing in the middle of the hallway, the sheet that she was supposed to be making the bed with, over his head. "Shawn what the hell are you doing?" Juliet asked.

Upon hearing her voice Shawn turned around and exclaimed enthusiastically: "Look Jules, I'm a ghost!" And he began running up and down the hallway while simultaneously waving his arms and humming the X-files theme. Juliet let out a chuckle at the sight before her. Shawn's enthusiasm and general goofiness was hard to resist, especially now that he was 'floating' towards her, occasionally bumping into one of the walls because of the way the sheet over his head was limiting his sight. 'I'm dating a six year old.' Juliet mumbled, shaking her head but laughing at the same time.

"No Jules, you're dating a superhero!" Shawn replied, now standing in front of her, the sheet currently draped around him as a cape.

"Well maybe the superhero could help me make the bed." She said, wanting to walk back into the room again but Shawn prevented her from doing so, quickly going around her and standing in the doorway

"Only if the superhero in question gets a kiss in return." He said cocky. Juliet smiled, leaning towards him and the moment he leaned into her as well, she swiftly ducked under his arm and grabbed the sheet from his shoulder at the same time. "Not fair Jules, not fair." He said disappointed but a moment later he was helping her making the bed anyway. "At what time is this Jim person coming anyway?" Shawn asked.

"Colleen, my cousin, said she'd drop him off around noon so anytime now." Juliet said. Shawn's face fell. He'd been looking forward to spending the day with her, especially since she got so little days off. And now some unknown kid was getting in the way of that.

"Well, I guess I better get going then." He said resigned.

"Or you know, you could stay." Juliet replied slightly hesitant, afraid she had overstepped some unknown line with her reply. She had learned from experience that Shawn was very easily freaked out when it came to 'taking steps' and she wasn't sure if him meeting relatives of hers including a 4 year old kid was a step in his mind. Luckily Shawn seemed to like her suggestion because a smile appeared on his face as he and Juliet finished making the bed: "Sure, I can stick around for a little while." Juliet smiled as well and a second later the doorbell rang...

(...)

"Aunt Jules!" A small voice happily exclaimed as she opened the door and one second later two tiny arms were safely secured around her waist. "Hey buddy!" Juliet said lovingly, lifting Jim up in the air. With Jim still in her arms she greeted who Shawn thought to be Colleen and Colleen's husband as well. Unsure what to do exactly Shawn stood there waiting in the corner, a few steps behind Juliet.

"Hey Colleen, how have you been?" Juliet asked, putting Jim down on the ground again. While she, Colleen and Colleen's husband began talking, Jim, having gotten bored with the adults talking, turned around to go into the living room but nearly bumped into Shawn when he did.

"Aunt Jules, there is a strange man in your living room!" Jim cried out, his eyes big with fear because of the sudden encounter.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Juliet said, quickly walking over to Jim and Shawn, the last one looking more uncomfortable by the second. "I totally forgot to introduce you! Jim, this is Shawn. Shawn is my boyfriend." Juliet said, eyeing Shawn who then slowly put out his hand which Jim only shook after having looked questioningly at Juliet and having received an encouraging nod. As soon as they had shaken hands, Jim got behind Colleen who shook hands with Shawn as well.

"So you're the infamous Shawn Spencer." She said smilingly. "It's great to have finally met you after everything I've heard about you." She exchanged a meaningful look with Juliet which Shawn didn't fail to notice and then she introduced her husband Rick to him. She began asking him some questions which he replied to absentmindedly, all the while looking at Jim who was still staring at him with big eyes from behind his mother. The staring was starting to make Shawn even more uncomfortable. He liked to think he was pretty good with kids because, as Gus said to him at least four times a week, most of the time he acted like a kid, thus making contact with children was easy for him. It looked like he had to make more effort for this Jim to like him though, judging from the way he still refused to move one inch away from his mother. Maybe this whole thing was a mistake, he thought. Maybe it was too soon for him to try stuff like this and this was his cue to leave.

Colleen noticed Shawn looking at Jim and smiled: "Don't worry if Jim initially doesn't seem to like you very much, he's always been shy upon meeting someone for the first time and I think your presence has overthrown him a little. It's okay, just give him a little time to adjust and he'll get over it in no time. Oh, talking about time, we really have to rush to the wedding now. Ricky's boss is getting married and he throws the kind of wedding that lasts all day and night." She rolled her eyes as if she wasn't really looking forward to it but walked towards the front door anyway. Jim let go of her and quickly ran over to Juliet to grasp hers.

"Oh here is his bag, everything should be in there. Juliet, you have my phone number in case something's wrong right?"

"Yes, I have it right here, don't worry, me and Jim are going to have an fantastic time, right Jim?" When Jim nodded his head Juliet added: "Now hurry you two! Have fun!" Colleen and Rick both gave Jim a kiss, told him to behave and with a "It was nice meeting you Shawn" left. Juliet and Jim quickly went to stand in front of the window to wave at them, but Shawn didn't follow them. The front door was still open and he stood there wondering if maybe it wasn't for the best if he just quietly left...

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><p><strong>AN: Cliffhanger! And that on the first chapter. What you think of it so far? Does it sound promising/like fun at all? First chapters are never my strong suit by the way, since I always feel like I have to find my way in a new story...but I still hope you liked it. OMG, you know what you should like totally do? Write me review! That would be like the best thing ever! (Seriously though; reviews are pretty much the only thing that convince my insecure mind to keep writing)**


	2. 13:00 14:00

**A/N: First of all: HAPPY PSYCH / LEAP DAY EVERYONE! We survived the hiatus, hurrah! Secondly, thank you all so much for your reviews! Honestly, I don't think I've ever gotten so many for just one chapter. Consider me updating so quickly (I am really slow most of the time I'm afraid) as my way of saying thanks. **

**Oh, before we continue, I should probably mention that this story takes place, well, after 6x09 and before the episode we will all get to enjoy today. Okay, I think that's everything, allons-y!**

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><p>"Shawn what are you doing?" Shawn could hear Juliet ask. He turned around and could now see Juliet standing in the doorway of her apartment. Sighing loudly he walked back to Juliet.<p>

"Nothing Jules, I just thought it would be for the best if I went home. Clearly the kid is uncomfortable with me being there and honestly, I am starting to share his sentiments." He said when he'd reached her.

She was eyeing him with a look of disappointment on her face. He hated that look, but it would be a mistake to go back into the house. What if he did or said something that made Jim sad? That would definitely only disappoint her more, he thought. And disappointing Juliet was not something that was high on his list, especially not after their trip together. He wanted to prove to her so badly that he was ready for a serious relationship, but dealing with a kid was clearly too much for him to handle right now.

He wanted to turn around again and walk away but Juliet grabbed his shoulder: "Shawn, Jim is 5 years old and was just dropped off by his parents for his very first sleepover ever. Just, give him some time. Honestly, if you do that, you'll see that it is a great kid. Plus..." She bit her lip. Shawn and she were never very forthcoming with talking about their relationship and feelings except for the few rare outbursts. And what she had almost let slip, was definitely too forthcoming for noon on a Friday with a kid she was supposed to be watching over waiting for her in the living room of her apartment.

"What is it Jules?" Shawn pressed, looking at her intensely.

"Nothing, it's stupid." Juliet said. "Forget about it, okay? Look, if you really feel so strongly about this, leave. I won't stop you. But I'd really like it if you stayed, just for a little while. Please?" She asked, looking hopeful.

"What if I mess this up Jules?" Shawn said suddenly.

Now Juliet looked confused: "Mess this up? What do you mean?"

"What if I say something stupid or do something wrong and then the kid hates me or is scared of me and...and then if he hates me then you will hate me and then I've messed up what we had and I don't want that I just..." He stopped talking and looked at her helplessly.

Juliet said nothing and instead cupped his cheek with her hand and pulled him closer to her: "I can't believe I am going to say this." She then said, "But I think you are over thinking this. Plus, I could never hate you and I really believe Jim can't either. Just give it some time and don't worry so much." She placed a small kiss on his cheek and smiled at him. Shawn, feeling a little ashamed of his sudden outburst smiled as well.

"Now come on, get back in the house. We need an extra player." She said.

Shawn's face lit up: "We're gonna play a board game? You never want to play board games with me because I always win."

Juliet rolled her eyes. "No, I don't wanna play board games with you because you always cheat."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Whatever Shawn, as long as you don't cheat this time." She lightly brushed her nose against his and then went back in the house again, feeling glad Shawn seemed to be acting relatively normal again.

"You're just a sore loser!" Shawn called after her before grinning widely and going back into Juliet's apartment as well.

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><p>(...)<p>

"You're cheating!" Jim shouted and pointed his finger at Shawn as he was rolling the dice with his right hand while simultaneously not-so-secretly grabbing 3 five dollar bills out of the bank with his left hand.

Shawn quickly dropped the bills back in the box and looked innocently at Juliet: "I did not cheat. Please do not tell me that you really value the word of him over that of your boyfriend?"

Juliet raised one eyebrow, giving him her best 'this-is-a-disapproving-look'. "Shawn, I saw you take the money out of the box, it was hard not to, so yes I actually value Jim's word over that of my cheating boyfriend.

Shawn wanted to protest but Jim now joined the conversation as well: "Aunt Jules, what exactly is a boyfriend?" He asked.

Juliet was a little taken aback by Jim's sudden question. Ever since the game began, Juliet had been keeping a close eye on both Shawn and Jim, but Jim didn't seem so afraid of Shawn anymore. It seemed that especially after Shawn had built a pyramid of chance cards with which Jim had helped him that his fright had turned into admiration for Shawn and his pyramid building skills.

The fact that he was now openly asking questions, was a sign that he felt even more comfortable with being around her and Shawn and so she didn't mind answering: "Uhm, well, a boyfriend is kind of like what you're dad is to your mom, only they are married and a boyfriend and girlfriend aren't."

"So Shawn is your boyfriend." Jim stated matter-of-factly.

"He sure is." Juliet said with a smile, which broadened when she looked at Shawn and saw that he was smiling as well.

Grabbing the dice from the board Juliet wanted to resume the game but Jim wasn't done with asking questions: "Does Shawn live with you now that he is your boyfriend?"

"No, it's not like that", Juliet hastily replied, not liking where this 'interrogation' was going. This was reminding her of the conversation Shawn and she had had after his drunk-drugged phone call, telling her he wanted to move in with her. Even though she was fine when he had told her he wasn't ready to move in just yet a day later, she still remembered how happy she had felt when she'd first heard that phone call.

"Aunt Jules?" she could hear Jim ask and it felt like the voice came from far away, she must have been deeper in thought than she realized.

"Oh sorry buddy, I was distracted for a second." She said. "What was your question again? Oh right, well, when you're boyfriend and girlfriend, you don't have to live together. Shawn sometimes comes to my home to watch a movie or something with me and on rare occasions, when he behaves, - she looked at Shawn for a brief moment- he even gets to stay over, but he still has his own house." Juliet fell silent now, looking nervously at Jim, hoping her answer had satisfied him and for a little while Jim indeed was quiet, pondering her answer.

But then he turned to Shawn: "Do you like it when you get to have sleepovers with aunt Jules?"

Shawn, who had been quietly chuckling at all the difficult questions Jules had to answer, began looking slightly uncomfortable now that Jim was directing his attention towards him. "Of course I love having sleepovers with aunt Jules, in fact, I've never had sleepovers that have been more, uhm, fun than those I have with her." He said, staring at the table, not wanting to look at Juliet now that he had answered one of Jim's more...delicate questions as well.

Jim seemed to have gotten the answer he wanted from Shawn because now he looked at Juliet again: "Do you like having sleepovers with Shawn as well?"

"Of course I do!"

Now Jim looked confused: "Why would Shawn still have his own house if you both love having sleepovers so much?"

The question remained hanging in the air, both Shawn and Juliet now intensely looking at the table, avoiding looking at each other completely. Jim however didn't seem to be needing an answer to his question and he moved his chair towards where Shawn was sitting.

"You know", Jim began in a serious but quiet tone as if he was about to share a secret with him: "I think aunt Jules is the best aunt ever, don't you think so too?"

He looked at Shawn with such a serious face that Shawn almost had to laugh, but he managed to keep a straight face as he replied: "Yes, yes I do, very much so."

"Then you should ask her if you could have sleepovers with her all the time!" Jim exclaimed enthusiastically, seemingly satisfied with Shawn's answer.

Now Shawn definitely thought his eyes would never look at anything again but Juliet's kitchen table. He didn't know how exactly, but it seemed like somehow this kid had made the entire day about his relationship with Jules and if they should take the next step or not. And the best part about this whole situation was that it wasn't even 1 pm yet and he would probably be here for a while. He could hear Juliet inhaling sharply and neither one of them dared to look at each other.

Jim in the meantime was blissfully unaware of the tension he had created between Juliet and Shawn and was now tapping Juliet's shoulder: "Aunt Jules, it's your turn." Knowing she couldn't avoid it any longer, she looked up and smiled at Jim as she rolled the dice.

The rest of the game was, - thank God, Juliet thought - pretty non-eventful. Jim had now definitely overcome his initial shyness and was asking a million questions and telling a hundred stories, but none of the questions were as uncomfortable as the ones he asked before. Juliet and Shawn did their best to answer them, all the while avoiding each other's gaze.

After a little while Shawn dared to look at Juliet again, who then gave him a slightly uncomfortable smile in return. "Your nephew really knows the right questions to ask." He remarked almost in a whisper. Juliet didn't know how or what to reply to that, but thankfully another one of Jim's questions saved her from having to try to answer.

When the game had finished, which, surprisingly, Shawn had won without cheating, - or so he said, Juliet still had her suspicions - Shawn looked at his phone, checking the time and he then exclaimed: "Quick Jules, turn on the tv, Phineas and Ferb is on!" He practically jumped onto the couch and sat down, his eyes already fixed on the television.

Much to his surprise, Jim didn't sit down on the chair next to the couch, but instead sat down next to him. "You watch Phineas and Ferb too?" Jim asked.

"Are you kidding me? Of course I do, it's only like my favourite show ever!" Shawn said enthusiastically. "For someone so old you like a lot of stuff I like." Jim remarked, his eyes too fixed on the screen now that the show was starting.

"I'm not that old!" Shawn began to protest but Jim shushed him: "Shhh it's starting!"

Shawn turned his head to look at Juliet to see if she was as shocked as he was that Jim had called him old but she just chuckled: "He's right Shawn, you might be a little too old to be watching this show."

"Jules, don't pretend that you don't love Phineas and Ferb at least as much as I do. Because I know you do, you always watch it with me."

"That's only because you hide the remote control and force me to watch it with you Shawn." Juliet reminded him, but soon she sat down on the couch as well and together they watched tv.

After a little while Juliet glanced sideways at Jim and smiled when she saw he was completely engrossed in the television. Shawn in the meantime had absentmindedly put his arm around her and had pulled her closer as he too was completely focused on what was happening on the screen. Juliet smiled, without really knowing why. Sitting all together on the couch together like this made her feel happy in a way she couldn't quite explain.  
>She was sort of surprised she felt this way; she had thought having asked Shawn to stay even though he hadn't wanted to, would make things feel awkward and forced, but the exact opposite was true.<br>Sure, there had been some initial reluctance on Shawn's part and some convincing on hers, but hardly two hours had passed since Jim arrived and already they seemed to be getting along much better than she could have hoped for. If she was honest with herself she knew she had put quite a lot of thought into this day. This might just be one of the few chances she would get to...

The beeping of her phone made her lose her train of thought and she quickly tried to find her phone but it took her a while to locate it, which resulted in some annoyed glances from Jim and Shawn since they couldn't hear the television over the increasingly louder beeping noise. Finally she found the phone between the cushions of the couch and she quickly answered it. "O'Hara." She said while walking to the kitchen so as not to disturb Jim and Shawn any further.

It took her a while to return and Shawn could hear her talking to whomever was on the other end of the line in a pleading tone. Unfortunately, even his 'psychic' senses weren't good enough to make out what they were talking about. When she returned, her face showed a mixture of annoyance and seriousness. Shawn had seen that look before and he was now 95% sure that the call had been work related.

"What's wrong? Something work-related?" Shawn asked, getting up from the couch and walking up to her.

Juliet sighed: "Yes, that was the station, some last minute problems with evidence regarding a case. They need for me to come down since I was the one who collected it and checked it into the evidence room.

Shawn looked confused: "So, why do you look so troubled? Just say you will do it tomorrow."

"Yeah...that's the thing...the trial starts tomorrow and so they need for me to do it today. As in right now."

"Oh...can't you just take Jim with you to the station?" Shawn suggested, "Surely someone like Buzz can watch over him for a minute while you sort this out."

"I could", she replied hesitatingly, "But it might take me a while and the entire station is pretty busy with this big case."

She looked at Shawn, then at Jim and then at Shawn again, giving him a meaningful nod. After the realization had dawned on Shawn as to what she was hinting at, his face turned serious for maybe half a second before a smile appeared on his face: "I guess besides being a ghost/superhero boyfriend, I'll be a babysitter as well."

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><p><strong>AN: Aww look at Shawn and Juliet playing house. Cute right? At least I hope it is cute...since that was kind of my goal. Anyway, I put a little bit of angst in it as well to balance things out. And of course some unfinished sentences to make you wonder a bit...**

**Liked it/didn't like it/loved it/hated it? Hopes/thoughts/suggestions/dreams about what should/will/shouldn't/could happen next? Tell me so in a review and maybe, just maybe you get an update soon! (I'll give you one spoiler: there is a good chance Gus is involved!)**


	3. 14:00 16:30

**A/N: Another update, another chapter. I normally don't update so quickly but all your wonderful, amazing reviews really made me write faster. Thank you all so much for the encouragement! Okay, so...chapter 3, to be honest this was kind of a hard chapter to write but I hope you enjoy the result anyway. Oh, and happy Psych day everyone! :D**

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><p>Juliet went around the apartment like a whirlwind, searching for various items and putting them in her bag. "The sooner I get this thing sorted out, the sooner I will be back." She said, to really no one in particular. She then ran from the bathroom to the bedroom looking for her car keys.<br>She couldn't believe she had to come into work. Not today. Shawn was very sweet to offer to Jim in her absence but she knew her mind wouldn't be put at ease until she was back home with them again. "Where are my damn car keys?" She muttered to herself, walking back to the bathroom again and practically running into Shawn who was standing in the doorframe.

Shawn was looking at her, smiling and dangling her keys before her eyes. "Thanks." Juliet said, looking into his eyes for a little moment and then adding: "And not just for finding my keys."

"Anytime." Shawn said in a serious tone. He had no idea how he would entertain Jim for the next couple of hours, but that shouldn't be too hard. Kids are entertained very easily. He reasoned to himself. Plus, this could be the opportunity to prove to Jules that he was truly boyfriend material and that he was serious about their relationship.

"Jim?" Juliet called out.

"Yes aunt Juliet." Jim replied, his eyes still glued to the television screen. Juliet knew better than to talk to him like this, knowing he wouldn't really listen as long as he was watching television and so she went to stand in between the couch and the television, blocking Jim's view.

"Listen Jim", she began kneeling down to face him directly, "I have to leave for a little while, but Shawn will stay here with you, is that okay with you?"

Now she had Jim's full attention: "Why are you leaving?" He asked in a small voice.

"Something really important has come up at work, so I have to go to the police station, but I will only be gone two or three hours, I promise. And Shawn will stay here with you, okay?" Jim looked doubtful but he nodded his head in agreement and so Juliet thought it would be better if she just left right away and not make this any harder.

Please don't do anything stupid." She said to Shawn, putting on her jacket and opening the front door. "Come on, Jules, you know me, I very rarely do anything truly stupid. Just have a little faith in me." He replied soothingly, placing a small kiss on her forehead. But as she shut the front door behind her she couldn't help but wonder if Shawn was capable of handling this...

As long as Phineas and Ferb was on, everything was fine. Jim was watching television while Shawn anxiously sat next to him, wondering what to do when the episode was over. After 5 more minutes the show was indeed over and Jim turned his head to look at Shawn. "I'm hungry." He announced after having stared at Shawn for a good 10 seconds.

Shawn immediately sprang up from the couch. "Okay, you're hungry. That's okay, that's fine. That's...uhm, something I can handle. So. Uhm, what can I do?"

He looked questioningly at Jim who in return was looking at him confused "Uhm maybe you could make me a sandwich?" Jim suggested and then added: "It's kind of weird that you don't know that!"

"Yeah well in my defense, I very rarely do anything before 2 pm." Shawn replied from the kitchen, looking in the fridge and going through the cupboards.

"Wow Juliet wasn't kidding, there really is no food anywhere." he mumbled to himself. Suddenly he had an idea. What if he would go grocery shopping with Jim? That way he had found something to do with Jim and he could buy food at the same time, that way earning bonus points with Jules.

"Hey Jim!" he shouted from the kitchen "How about you and I go for a little ride, find you something to eat and then go grocery shopping?"

Jim shrugged his shoulders, "I guess." "Great!"

Shawn exclaimed, grabbing his phone, "Let me just call my personal limo driver first."

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><p>(...)<p>

"You must be out of your damn mind if you think you can just order me to come around like I'm your driver." Shawn got thrown into his face as soon as he'd opened the front door.

"And yet here you are Gus." Shawn replied casually.

"Yeah well...I so happen to be needing something from the store as well and Juliet's apartment is on my way there so..." Gus began.

"Aww Gus, you don't have to lie to me, you can admit that you simply missed my ever-inspiring company."

"I saw you yesterday afternoon, Shawn. I can go more than one day without seeing you." Gus reminded him, stepping into apartment. "Uhm Shawn." Gus said when he stood in the living room.

"Yeah buddy?"

"Why is there a kid hiding under Juliet's kitchen table?"

"It's not a table, it's a submarine", a small voice from underneath the table sounded.

"Oh I'm sorry." Gus said sarcastically and turned around to face Shawn, "Why is there a kid hiding in a submarine in Juliet's apartment?"

"Didn't I tell you Juliet and I are babysitting her nephew Jim today?" Shawn asked and when Gus shook his head he added: "Don't worry I had kind of forgotten about it myself."

"Then where is Juliet? Gus asked, "Surely she wouldn't leave you alone with a kid like this?"

Now Shawn really started to get annoyed. Why was everyone assuming that he couldn't handle this? "Gus, don't be the 2012 remake of the 2007 Spider Man movie, of course she would leave me with her nephew to look after, why wouldn't she? Have a little faith in me. Now, are you going grocery shopping with Jim and me or not?"

Gus looked troubled: "I don't know Shawn, you know I don't like kids. They're basically little walking germ-machines."

"Please Gus, I really wanna do this for Jules." His voice lowered and got quieter now and Gus knew this indicated Shawn was serious about this.  
>"Plus, you know, I don't understand the whole concept of grocery stores." Shawn continued, "They are so confusing. There's food everywhere but somehow they still haven't made an aisle specifically for pineapple based products. Like, that is the first thing that I would do if I were the store manager and..."<p>

"Okay, okay", Gus hastily said now that Shawn had moved on from being serious to being random again, "I'll go with you, just make sure the kid doesn't mess with my car."

"Of course Gus." Shawn said reassuringly and then sat down on his knees and peered under the kitchen table: "Captain Jumbo, are you there?"

Jim's face appeared from under the table, looking startled: "Quick Shawn, get inside my submarine, you're drowning!"

"Oh no", Shawn shouted, playing along and quickly crawling under the table as well. "Thank you captain for saving me!" Shawn said when he was safely sitting under the table.

"Anytime." Jim said with a serious face. Shawn laughed but Gus was getting impatient: "Come on Shawn, let's go."

"Just a minute." he shouted from under the table at Gus and then looked at Jim again: "What you say we make it to dry land, captain, and go looking for some ration?" Jim nodded his head in agreement and together they crawled from under the table.

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><p>(...)<p>

After they had gone to get some pineapple smoothies for Shawn and Gus and a sandwich for Jim, they made their way to the grocery store. When they were in the possession of a shopping cart and inside the grocery store Gus looked at Shawn: "Let me see your grocery list Shawn, to see what to get first.

Shawn looked confused: "Why would I make a grocery list? Don't you know it would take ages to list all the food they sell here? Come on Gus, use that big magic head of yours."

Gus sighed, he should have known Shawn hadn't so much considered to make a grocery list before going grocery shopping. Something like that was way too normal for his best friend. Deciding not to dwell on it he said: "Okay, forget about the grocery list. What do you wanna have for dinner tonight? If you know that, you also know what to buy."

"Pancakes!" Not one, but two voiced sounded.

Shawn looked at Jim: "Yay for having the same brilliant idea! Pancake high five!"

Gus smiled as Jim and Shawn high fived. Being his best friend, Gus instantly knew why Shawn wanted to eat pancakes for dinner tonight, yet he wasn't sure if Shawn realized it himself. "Pancakes it is." Gus agreed, pushing the shopping cart to the bakery section.

It took them much longer to find all the items than if Gus had gone grocery shopping himself (which had mostly to do with the fact that Shawn had no idea which ingredients to buy and kept throwing stuff in the cart they would never ever need) but after little less than half an hour, they had not only found a mix for making pancakes, but food such as bread, butter, cheese and milk as well.

"Wow, who would have thought you could buy so many kinds of food at just one store!" Shawn wondered out loud when they were almost at the checkout counter. "I really should go out to buy food more often!"

Gus just rolled his eyes, choosing not to reply to that. Suddenly Shawn squinted his eyes and Gus recognized that look as one he often had when 'investigating' a case. "What's wrong Shawn?" Gus asked.

"Nothing Gus, just, would you do me a favour and go to the checkout counter with Jim and then wait in the car for me? I will only be a minute behind you, I swear." Shawn didn't wait for a response and ran off.

"Shawn, I am not going to pay for your groceries. Shawn! Shawn!" Gus shouted annoyed, but Shawn was already too far away to hear him. Not that he would have come back if he could have heard him, Gus thought angrily.

He felt a tug at his shirt: "Where has Shawn gone too?" Jim asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Gus said, straightening his shirt, "But he promised he'd be back in a minute. Come let's go to the checkout. You don't happen to have any money on you, do you?"

Shawn caught up with them in the parking lot when Gus was just about to put the groceries in the car.

"Let me help you with that Gus." Shawn said, taking a bag from Gus' arms and putting it in the car.

"Shawn you're back!" Jim exclaimed, already sitting in the car.

"Of course I am, I wanted make sure you didn't eat all the candy we just bought." Shawn replied.

"You're not going to tell me where you ran off to?" Gus asked when they were all seated. "No, I am not." Shawn replied casually. "Oh, by the way Gus, if you could drop me and Jim off at the station that would be great. I just texted Jules and she's almost done. That way we can ride back with her to the apartment."

"Your wish is my command." Gus muttered sarcastically but Shawn wasn't paying attention to him anymore because he'd just thought of something very important. He turned around to look at Jim who was sitting in the back seat. Shawn's eyes were unmistakably sparkling with joy when he said:

"Jim, let me tell you about a man who works with aunt Jules who is named Lassie..."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: You know that's right! Lassie will be in the next chapter! That much I have already figured out I think.  
>I found that the biggest problem I had while writing this chapter, was writing in character. Maybe you could tell me how I did? Or if you're feeling really creative, maybe you can tell me some other thoughts you have on this chapter as well? I might just feel urged to write faster and then maybe you get an update within a week...<strong>


	4. 16:30 20:00

**A/N: Little late with updating, I know. Stupid senior year of high school. Anyway, to make up for it, I wrote a really, really long chapter so I hope you accept this as a sort of apology. Had a few problems with writing this on thoug, but I hope it's still slightly awesome!**

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><p>Detective Carlton Lassiter was not in a good mood.<p>

Admittedly, he wasn't one for feeling happy easily but today sure as hell wasn't trying to put him in a good mood. Pretty much the entire station was extremely busy with preparing for the big court case that started tomorrow and of course that case had happened while he was on vacation. A vacation he had been forced to take because apparently there was some law against never taking vacation days.  
>This all meant that he was currently doing some unimportant paperwork, while the rest of the station was dealing with this case. Hell, Chief Vick probably was outside right now addressing the press, he thought bitterly. Even O'Hara had been called back in from her day off. At least Shawn wasn't with her, like he usually was, even more so now that they were -it took him some trouble to even think of the word- dating. That had been the only good thing about this day so far.<p>

Suddenly he saw a kid standing before him. He must have been in deeper thought that he'd realized because he hasn't noticed the kid until now. The child couldn't be older than 5 maybe 6 years Lassiter estimated. The child was looking at him with big wide eyes. "Are you Detective Lassiter?" the kid asked.

Lassiter stood up from behind his desk now, walking over to the kid and saying in a formal voice: "Yes I am. Is there something I can help you with young man?"

"Uhm yes." The kid said thoughtfully. "I've lost something." He kept not looking Lassiter in the eye, instead looking past him as if there was someone standing behind him.

Lassiter fought the urge to turn around. It might just be a kid, but Lassiter strongly believed in giving every civilian who required help from the SBPD his undivided attention. "You lost something." Lassiter repeated. "Can you give me any details as to what you've lost exactly?"

Now the kid smiled, as if he had been waiting for this response and said: "It's round and kind of looks like a globe. Oh and it's snowy."

Lassiter felt his face fell as the realization as to what the kid was describing dawned on him. "Who put you up to this. Tell me!" He demanded.

"Are you looking for this?" An all too familiar voice sounded. Lassiter turned around slowly and found himself looking at Shawn who was sitting on Lassiter's desk, grinning widely and repeatedly tossing a small snow globe into the air and then catching it again.

"You think this is funny Spencer? Don't you know it's illegal to distract a policeman from his police work with such nonsense?"

"Your hair is the real crime here Lassie-face." Shawn replied. "Besides, you were just doing some paperwork, that's hardly real police work."

"Actually paperwork is a very important facet of the.." Lassiter began but then he stopped talking and looked at Shawn and Jim as if he was seeing them for the first time: "Wait a second. This kid's with you?" The tone of his voice changed as if the thought of Shawn looking after a kid greatly amused him.

"Actually Lassie, this kid is mine and Jules'. We've been secretly raising a kid these past five years, you just didn't notice it. Which is impressively bad, even for your standards." Shawn answered.

Lassiter looked confused for a second before a mock-smile appeared on his face: "That's really funny Spencer, almost as funny as picturing you as a dad."

He wanted to expand on that topic further when Jim, who had stayed quiet while Lassiter and Shawn were engaged in their bantering, suddenly exclaimed: "Aunt Jules! Shawn said you are going to make us pancakes!" Lassiter and Shawn both turned around to look at Juliet who was now walking towards them.

"Oh am I really?"Juliet said when she had reached them, lifting Jim up in the air and carrying him in her arms.

"You've sorted out the problem with the evidence O'Hara?" Lassiter asked, his voice sounding formal again.

"Yeah, everything should be ready now for tomorrow morning." Juliet rubbed her eyes with her hand that wasn't currently holding Jim. It had taken her longer than she had expected to solve the problem with the evidence and the entire stressful atmosphere around the station had made her feel stressed as well.  
>The thought of finally getting to go home with Jim and Shawn was a very appealing one and so she cut the conversation with Lassiter short: "If you don't mind Carlton, I am going home now with my nephew and Shawn."<p>

"Your nephew. Well that certainly explains a lot. Anyway, uhm, enjoy your day off." Lassiter replied in a tone as if he couldn't believe spending a day with both Shawn and a kid could be anything close to enjoyable.

As the three of them walked away, Lassiter could hear Shawn saying that he had done grocery shopping and O'Hara actually replying in a surprised and happy tone. Lassiter shook his head as he watched them leaving the police station.  
>He would never understand how a guy like Shawn could make O'Hara happy, but as long as she was happy, he would stay out of it. But, he promised himself, as soon as Spencer messed up, which was bound to happen because it's Spencer, he sure as hell would get involved. Preferably with his fists.<p>

* * *

><p>"Okay, we're here." Juliet said as she pulled into the parking spot next to her apartment. When she didn't get a reply she turned around and looked at Jim and Shawn sitting in the backseat.<br>The sight before her made her wonder whether she should start laughing or start scolding them or maybe both. At least she now knew why the two of them had been so quiet the whole ride back. Juliet had been too focused on the road and the thought of getting back home to have noticed, but apparently Shawn had thought it would be a good idea to give Jim a chocolate bar from the grocery bag that was sitting between them in the backseat. The result was a Jim covered in chocolate and a now very guilty looking Shawn who was eyeing her nervously.

"Shawn." Juliet said, almost sighing his name.

"Look aunt Jules! Shawn allowed me to have chocolate before dinner, not even you allow me that!" Jim exclaimed enthusiastically before Shawn could even begin apologizing.

"Oh I am looking." Juliet said and then turned to Shawn: "You realize it is almost 6 pm, I still have to start dinner and now clearly I have to give Jim a bath as well right?"

"I'll give Jim a bath." Shawn hastily offered, "You get started on making pancakes and me and Jim will wash all those chocolate stains right off, okay Jim?" Jim nodded enthusiastically and Juliet decided it wouldn't help to get mad about it now. But she still glared angrily at Shawn. An angry glare which only intensified when Shawn added, while getting out of the car, "Not sure if those chocolate stains will get out of his clothes though."

* * *

><p>As Juliet was unloading the grocery shopping she could hear the sound of water pouring, coming from the bathroom. She hoped Shawn had understood everything about giving a toddler a bath but then again, it shouldn't be too hard, not even for Shawn. He might not always act as...adult-like as she wished but she knew he wouldn't let anything serious happen to Jim. That much she could rely on.<br>Apparently she could count on Shawn buying groceries as well because she found everything she would be needing to make pancakes. Although she suspected Gus might have had a little to do with that. While she set the table and prepared the pancake mix her mind wandered.

The little problem at the police station aside, she realized she had had a pretty amazing day so far. Playing board games, watching television, even as she was now making dinner, she felt strangely content. A year ago she would have never thought she could enjoy doing these kinds of things but since she was with Shawn... She bit her lip.  
>Here she was, making pancakes and pretending as if she and Shawn had been married for years already.<p>

Is that such a bad prospect? A small voice in the back of her head sounded but Juliet did her best to ignore it. She and Shawn had been dating for barely six months now and she didn't even know where he thought this relationship was going.  
>Maybe tonight if she could muster up the courage, she would try to steer the conversation in that direction. The fact Jim was here might just be the way to get that conversation started. Speaking of Jim, she should probably check on him and Shawn and tell them dinner was almost ready, she thought, forcing her mind to focus on more practical matters.<p>

As she was approaching the bathroom she could hear Jim and Shawn laughing. When she came to the open bathroom door and looked inside, she momentarily forgot how to breathe.

There was water everywhere.

The entire bathroom floor was covered in water, the towels soaked and somehow even the bathroom mirrors had smears of soap on them. But at first Juliet didn't even notice all of this, all her attention was for Shawn. And, more specifically, on what he was wearing.  
>He'd taken off the green shirt he'd been wearing that day, afraid of it getting wet and he was now sitting on the side of the bathtub in just a white shirt. A white shirt which, on account of it being soaked in water and soap for the greater part, was clinging deliciously tight to his upper body.<p>

"Oh hey there Jules." The white shirt said and with great difficulty Juliet tore her eyes away from Shawn's torso and looked at his face.  
>She then for the first time looked around the bathroom and finally noticed the mess that used to be her bathroom.<p>

Shawn in the meantime seemed to have been doing the same thing because he hastily began apologizing: "I'm sorry for the mess I've made Jules, it's all my fault. I promise I'll clean up!"

"It's not your fault, it's the storm!" Jim, who was still sitting in the bathtub, objected before Juliet could reply.

"Oh yes, that's true too." Shawn admitted. "You see, a sudden local storm seemed to have taken place in your bathroom...which may or may not have been initiated by me making waves in the water."

"It was the best storm ever!" Jim declared and Shawn enthusiastically nodded his head in agreement but then seemed to realize that Juliet hadn't said a word since she'd come in. His enthusiastic smile disappeared and he anxiously waited for her to answer.

Juliet on her part wasn't thinking about storms or messy bathrooms at all. She was looking at Shawn and how he was looking at her while at the same time placing little dots of soap on the top of Jim's head who was still laughing softly. And it was right at that moment that she knew. Suddenly all she had worried about this morning seemed irrelevant. Just looking at him she knew this was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, to start a family with. All the storms and messy bathrooms in the world could not convince her otherwise.

But does he want the same? The voice in the back of her head sounded again. Just as she had done in the kitchen, she ignored the thought and instead said to Shawn and Jim: "I just wanted to let you two know that dinner is ready. So maybe the storm can lie down so Jim can get dressed?"

Shawn nodded his head: "We'll be right there." Juliet nodded too, closed the door behind her, realizing she was still smiling.

Just as she was about to check on Shawn and Jim and what was taking them so long, they came into the kitchen. Jim in his pajamas and slippers and Shawn, much to her disappointment, wearing his green shirt over his white one again.

The bar of chocolate had done little to satisfy Jim's appetite because as soon as he's sat down, he attacked the pancakes with such a fervor that it seemed like he hadn't eaten in 45 days instead of 45 minutes. Shawn was evidently enjoying the pancakes as well which only made her feel happier. She wasn't the only one who was smiling though.

A few times when she was talking to Jim, she glanced at Shawn and she was almost startled to see how he was looking at her. It was as if he was continuously smiling at her but there was also a strange look in his eyes, one she had never seen before. She was just on the verge of asking him if there was something wrong when Jim yawned loudly, almost falling asleep on the remainder of his pancake. With a shock she remembered that it was past 7 already.

"Come on Jim, finish your pancake so I can get you to bed." She said to him.

"I don't want to. I want to stay here with you and Shawn." He complained in between yawns.

"You know what." Shawn said, "If you listen to aunt Jules and go to bed, maybe I'll just come read you a bedtime story in a few minutes."

After looking at Juliet and Shawn, who did their best to come across as looking strict, Jim decided that going to his bedroom was indeed the best available option and with Juliet hurrying after him, he ran to the guestroom.  
>Shawn in the meantime tried to load Juliet's dishwasher as best as he could which proved to be difficult since he had never actually loaded a dishwasher before. From the bathroom he could hear Juliet explaining the benefits of brushing your teeth on a regular basis to Jim.<br>Now it was Shawn's turn to grin widely without really knowing why.

Before he could wonder to himself what had made him smile so much in the past hour, a voice sounded from the bedroom: "Shawn! Will you come read me a story now?" Putting the thought out his mind, he went to the guestroom where he found Jim lying in bed and Juliet sitting on his bedside.

As soon as he'd sat down on the bedside as well, the thought occurred to him that he didn't really have a book to read to Jim.

Juliet seemed to have guessed his thought because she said: "I am sure Shawn knows a great story from the top of his head." And then in a lower voice said to Shawn: "Don't worry, he's five. I doubt he has high expectations when it comes to bedtime stories."

"Okay." Shawn said, clearing his throat. "Once upon a time there was a…knight called knight Spenstar. This knight was the bravest, smartest, most fearless knight of the whole kingdom. Plus he had the most amazing hair anyone had ever seen."

Next to him Juliet scoffed but he ignored her and went on telling the story, the words coming easy now: "On a certain day knight Spenstar met a princess called princess Julie. Knight Spenstar thought she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen and so he started a conversation with her. As it turned out, princess Julie was only a part time princess. She actually spent most of her time going on adventures and catching bad guys. This only made knight Spenstar like her more and so he asked: can I go on adventures with you?  
>Princess Julie, unable to resist the knight's charms, said yes and from that day on, they went on adventures together. Yet knight Spenstar never told princess Julie how much he liked, even though he really wanted to."<p>

"Why didn't he?" A sleepy voice from the bed sounded.

"Ah, because he was scared." Shawn answered.

"But I thought you said he was the bravest knight in all of the kingdom." Jim replied.

This had Shawn thinking for a little while. "He was the bravest knight in the kingdom yes, but only when it came to slaying dragons and going after bad guys. When it came to saying how he felt, knight Spenstar was more like a coward than a knight." He finally said.

"Anyway, back to the story. Then one day something horrible happened. Princess Julie was kidnapped by a very bad man called Lord YanYing and knight Spenstar desperately set out to find her."

He could hear Juliet inhaling sharply and for a second he wondered if it he should continue. But it seemed like he had no choice but to say the words that had been stuck in his brain for so long. As if not directly saying it Juliet made it easy to finally talk about this. Even if this meant he had to wrap up his thoughts in the style of a bedtime story.

"Knight Spenstar had always been brave and fearless, but for the first time ever he felt really really scared. Scared that he might lose princess Julie. But most of all, he was scared that he may lose her without her ever knowing how much he liked her. This was what he feared most of all and, determined to find her, he searched all over the kingdom until at last he found the Tower of Time that was in the hands of Lord YanYing. Convinced he would find princess Julie on it, knight Spenstar ran up the steps until he came to the roof of the tower. And he had been right, princess Julie was there but also lord YanYing. Lord YanYing had tied princess Julie to a chair and had placed her on the chair on the edge of the roof. Knight Spenstar wanted to free the princess but of course lord YanYing didn't allow him to do that. And so he and the knight drew their swords and a fight began on the roof of the Tower of Time."

Shawn stopped talking to take a breath and Juliet used this moment to interrupt him: "Shawn." She said. His name was all she said but he could hear a sort of quiet desperation sounding through it, a sort of warning for him not to continue.

But Shawn wasn't planning on stopping now, not now he was already half way through. "Let me finish Jules." he insisted. "Just remember that fairy tales always have a happy ending."

He looked at her for a little while but Jim in the meantime was getting impatient: "What happened next?" He asked, sounding much more awake now. "Did the knight save the princess?"

"Well I can tell you that it wasn't easy." Shawn replied. "Lord YanYing was almost as strong and clever as knight Spenstar. During the fight there even was a short time that the knight thought he wouldn't win the fight but then he looked at princess Julie and that gave him more strength. At last knight Spenstar defeated lord YanYing and when he had done so, he quickly untied princess Julie. Yet, after he had returned her to her castle safe and sound, he still did not admit his true feelings for her."

Jim let out a sigh: "Knight Spenstar is an idiot."

"Oh I agree with you there but so did knight Spenstar because after a little while he realized he couldn't go one more day without telling her how he felt. And so one day when they where a far away corner of the kingdom, he and princess Juliet finally talked about their feelings. There were some complications at first but after the knight had admitted he would gladly trade his horse for a carriage in which they could both ride, princess Julie was convinced he really liked her and then they were together. Still, it took a small squire called squire James to make knight Spenstar realize that just being in a relationship with her wasn't enough and so on one night, when the squire had gone to bed, knight Spenstar went to princess Julie and..."

He hesitated for a small moment. This was one of the rare moments he was actually aware of the implications that came with what he was about to say, but he did not feel scared or had second thoughts.

He only felt really nervous about what Juliet would say or how she would react.

He cleared his throat, took Juliet's hand and looked at her: "And then he went to princess Julie, looked her in the eyes and asked: princess Juliet, would you move in a castle with me...?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yes. Shawn actually used a fairy tale to ask Juliet to move in with him. This was one of the things I had really planned out in my head when I began writing this story and so I hope it did not disappoint. (oh and I just had to put Lassiter's irrational fear of snowglobes in this chapter)  
>What you think? Is Juliet going to say yes? Only one way to find out...write me a review and I'll give you the anwer and update soon(ish) (I still have a thing called finals coming up but I am willing to ignore that if you guys give me some encouragement!)<strong>


	5. 20:00 22:30

**A/N: The bad news is that I couldn't update sooner because of my exams. The good news is that I did them very well. The better news is that all your reviews / story alerts I got during my exam week made me very very happy, thank you all so much!  
>The even better news is that I wrote a pretty long chapter which you can now all enjoy. The bad...no wait I think that's it. <strong>

* * *

><p>Juliet O'Hara had thought nothing Shawn Spencer did or said could surprise her anymore. Apparently she had been dead wrong about that. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest and she was faintly aware of the fact that Shawn was still holding both of her hands and that for the last 10 seconds she had been staring at the ground without saying anything.<br>She quickly looked up, meeting Shawn's eyes and suddenly she could almost feel her heart, already raging inside her chest, bursting with happiness. All she could think about was that he asked. He, Shawn Spencer, commitment-phobe, had asked her to move in with him.

All kinds of thoughts and emotions where tumbling over each other and it took her a moment to get herself under control again.  
>Somewhere in the back of her head she then realized she had not actually answered the question if she wanted to move in with him and just when she thought she had regained the ability to form coherent thoughts and sentences and wanted to answer Shawn's question, Jim did it for her: "Of course she said yes. Didn't she, Shawn?"<p>

Shawn looked questioningly at Juliet, a trace of nervousness still in his eyes: "Did she?" He repeated.

"Yes. Of course she did." Juliet answered calmly even though it took her a lot of trouble not to shout the words. "She said yes and knight Spenstar and princess Julie lived happily ever after in their castle. The end." She said, all the while looking at Shawn.

"Well you heard it buddy, in the end knight Spenstar overcame his biggest fear and he was rewarded with getting the thing he wanted the most...Anyway", Shawn continued after realizing this bedtimestory might have gotten a bit too complicated for a five year old, "I think it's time for you to get some sleep."

"I am not sleepy." Jim said in a small voice, fighting to keep his eyes open.

"Of course you're not." Shawn said, getting up from the bedside and gently touching Jim on his nose. "Goodnight buddy."

Before leaving the room he smiled at Juliet who smiled as well and said: "I'll be right there."

In a sort of haze Shawn made it to the living room. _She said yes, she said yes_. That was the only thought he had at the moment, one that seemed be running circles in his head. It was getting dark outside, he noticed and so he drew the curtains but only because that meant he had something to do. Every few seconds he looked impatiently at the hallway to see if Juliet was coming.  
>In the end when he'd drawn all the curtains and even turned on some lights, he sat down on the couch. Just as he was about to turn on the television he heard footsteps and two seconds later Juliet appeared from the hallway.<p>

"Well, I think he's finally..." She began but she couldn't continue because Shawn had flung his arms around her neck and was now in the process of kissing pretty much every inch of her face with special attention for her mouth. "Asleep." She finished breathlessly almost half a minute later.

"What did I deserve that for?" She asked when she had taken a few breaths.

Shawn, who still had his arms around her looked offended: "Don't tell me that you've already forgotten about my brilliant, Nobel prize worthy narrative in which I so cleverly asked you to move in with me."

"And here I thought that was just a bedtime story." She said teasingly, brushing her nose against his.

"What gave you that impression?" He murmured against her, their noses still touching ever so slightly.

"Well for one, it's hard to recognize you in the handsome, clever, strong knight Spenstar." She replied.  
>Shawn said nothing but instead pulled away and for a second Juliet thought she'd gone too far with teasing him but then a grin appeared on his face and before she knew it, he had lifted her up in the air and and carried her on his shoulder.<p>

"Shawn put me down! Shawn!" She demanded, but it was hard to sound demanding because she had to laugh at the same time.

"Be quiet woman!" Shawn ordered her but he too was laughing.  
>He walked over to the couch and then slowly eased her onto it. Before Juliet could even begin to reposition herself, Shawn quickly placed his knees on either side of her legs, his hands pinning hers above her head.<p>

Juliet let out a small whimper but Shawn just let out a low chuckle: "Say that I'm strong and maybe, if I'm in a forgiving mood, I'll release you."  
>Not being one for giving up easily, Juliet tried her best to struggle free but Shawn had her hands in an iron lock and no matter what she did, she couldn't get her hands free. When did he get so strong? She wondered to herself. After another few feeble attempts to free herself, she settled for a different approach.<p>

She moved her head so her mouth was close to Shawn's ear. Shawn thinking she was about to surrender, grinned: "Good girl, now, say I'm strong."

"Never." Juliet whispered in a low voice in his ear.

She knew Shawn couldn't stand her whispering anything in his ear, always complaining it was ticklish and this time was no exception. She used this moment to quickly get her hands free and pushed Shawn, still distracted, sideways.

A second later, it was Shawn who was on his back with Juliet practically lying on top of him.

"You cheat." Shawn mumbled indignantly

"Yeah, well I like this position more." Juliet said triumphantly but Shawn didn't reply because he was now for the first time fully aware of the position they were in.  
>He began kissing her neck and slowly working his way up to her face. Juliet, forgetting all about their little power struggle, was happy to engage and, because she had reserved all her attention for Shawn and more particularly his mouth, didn't notice how Shawn pulled her down on the couch. When Shawn had stopped attacking her mouth and she could think clearly again, she was finally aware of the fact that he was on top of her once more.<p>

"You play dirty." Juliet complained quietly.

"So do you Jules, so do you." He replied. "Remember, all your release requires is one sentence."

"Okay fine, you win. Shawn you are strong." She admitted.

"As strong as David Hasselhoff?" Shawn asked.

"Why would you...okay fine, as strong as David Hasselhoff." This seemed to greatly please Shawn because she got rewarded with a another kiss and after a little while they contently lay together on the couch, their hands intertwined.

They just lay together like that for a little while before Juliet said: "Shawn, I want to talk to you about something."

"Hmm I want to talk to you too Jules." A sleepy sounding Shawn replied. "Especially about how amazing it is you got a couch that is so big that we can lie on it together on it, but can't it wait? I'm feeling far too comfortable and sleepy."

"I was just wondering." Juliet began, ignoring Shawn's previous comment, "Why you had to make it a fairy tale and write Yin, of all people, into the story." Shawn immediately knew exactly what she was talking about but he chose to remain silent for a while, pondering what he should say next.

Suddenly he sat upright and blurted out: "Because I wanted to be there Jules. I've gone over that night when Yin had kidnapped you a thousand times in my head and every time I come up with one thing: I should have been there."

"Shawn." Juliet began, sitting upright too and grabbing both of his hands, craving the contact with his body that she'd lost during his sudden confession. "You had no choice."

Shawn's jaw tightened: "Don't think I don't know that. I know I was right in choosing to try and save Abigail. I know that. I just don't _feel_ it. It kills me that I wasn't there Jules, it really does. The only thing I can do is try to make up for it, you know? Just...on that day I made a vow to myself to always protect you...of course I failed miserably when Yin returned but I try Jules, I try."  
>He took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure and Juliet could actually see his face changing, a smile appearing around his mouth and the lines in his forehead disappearing. Yet his eyes didn't quite match his smile as he cleared his throat and spoke again: "Anyway...that's why I made it like a fairy tale Jules, because that's the way it should have been."<p>

"You know, people are so wrong about you." Juliet replied softly, her hands gripping his tighter, "You care so much. About everything, everyone. Please just know I don't blame you Shawn for not being there. I never have and you shouldn't beat yourself up because of it." Juliet thought she could actually see some of the worry slide off him as he began to look more relaxed. Not for the first time that day she wondered how there was such a different side to Shawn. A side, she was sure of nobody ever saw except maybe Gus...and now she.  
>"Plus", she continued, "Now we're gonna be living together, you get to protect me even better than you already did. And I can do the same to you. Besides, it will be a relief to know I can finally keep track of your disturbing eating habits." She said, ending with a joke in the hope that would cheer up Shawn a bit.<p>

"We're not even living together and you're already ordering me around and everything." Shawn said in a mock-complaining tone, but Juliet didn't fail to notice the relieved smile he gave her, feeling glad she had taken his little outburst so well. "So does this mean I can't move my popcorn machine into our new home?" He asked, giving Juliet his best 'puppydog-eyes'.

"Hmm maybe if you behave." Juliet replied.

Somehow during this whole exchange they unconsciously had snuggled together again and Juliet could feel heat radiating from his chest.

"You know." Shawn began hesitantly, "While we're on this whole me admitting stuff...I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed today." He sounded calm now, even though Juliet knew saying things like this never came easy for Shawn.  
>Shawn on his part felt strangely secure with him sitting upright and Juliet lying against his chest. Normally he would never even say things like this but after his little speech about Yin, talking about this didn't seem so difficult anymore. And so without really thinking about what he was saying exactly, the words came almost automatically. "You know, I just had a lot of fun today, I really did...and you making pancakes, it felt like it used to be and...-"<p>

"What do you mean like it used to be?" Juliet asked, interrupting him.

Shawn seemed to have figured out he wasn't making much sense because the rest of his story was a bit more structured: "Well...I suppose it's not hard to understand that when I was a kid, my home situation wasn't always as...peaceful as it's should have been. My mother was always working and when she wasn't, she was either fighting with my dad or avoiding him. And you already know about the...strained relationship I have with my dad. But every once in a while there was this sort of truce between us all and that pretty much always was the time my mother decided to do something 'family like', and that thing was making pancakes. Those moments were the few precious peaceful moments I got when I was young. And you making pancakes for me and Jim tonight just reminded me of that I guess. Made me realize how I've longed for something like this, to have a sense of having a home."  
>Suddenly Shawn let out a sort of cynical chuckle: "Wow Jules, you must think I'm almost as whiney as that wolf in that vampire movie thing. Sorry for that."<p>

"Don't do that!" Juliet replied, her voice sounding louder and sharper than she'd intended. "Don't shut me out like that by making a joke about it. Just don't. You can do it with everyone if you like but please, not with me." She lowered her voice now, "Shawn, I like you. Every part of you. In fact, ever since I've gotten to know this side of you a bit, I've only loved you more for it so don't put up this sort of...wall between us every time things tend to get serious. You don't have to, not with me."

She looked at Shawn who still had a trace of a smile around his lips but his eyes remained serious. "You're right Jules, I'm sorry. Just...this whole being in a serious relationship is kind of new to me."

"I know that Shawn. Which is why I'm here to help you with that. And I'll even things out a bit by saying I have something to admit to you too." The nervous feeling of this morning returned but she really did want to tell him. Especially now Shawn had pretty much poured his heart out in the last half hour.  
>"The reason why I so badly wanted you to stay this morning was that I wanted to use this as an opportunity to find out how you feel about kids...in general I mean." She hastily added.<p>

Shawn searched her eyes: "And when applied to our specific situation?"

"Well...I've always wanted kids." Juliet finally admitted, "But I mean, we've been barely dating for more than 6 months and I don't expect you to answer just yet or anything." Juliet's voice trailed off and for a second she was actually worried Shawn would make a run for the door but instead he smiled:

"Honestly Jules, if you had told me this before today I probably would have come up with a clever and, admittedly very funny way to change the subject, but after today I'm a bit more...open to the possibility.  
>It's not like I've never thought about the whole kids thing before but I have always associated family and having kids with divorce, fighting and mostly a lot of shouting. Of course I know not all families end like that...but today for the first time I actually felt like I could maybe one day have that kind of family.<br>That I can have a real home..." During his little speech he'd been staring at the couch and now for the first time he met Juliet's eyes: "Preferably a home with you in it."

He opened his mouth again to say something else but now it was Juliet who flung her arms around his neck and began kissing him. Shawn let out a low growl, half of surprise and half of approval before he kissed her back. As he deepened the kiss he not-so-gently pushed Juliet down on the couch so he was hovering above her.

"You know", he said in a husky voice after the need to breathe had become overwhelming and they had been forced to break off their kiss, "About the whole kids thing. I think we definitely should be practicing a lot in the near future."

"Oh yes I agree." Juliet replied, grabbing Shawn by the collar of his shirt, bringing his face close to hers again, "In the very near future." She added before kissing him again.

* * *

><p><strong>AN I kind of got carried away with writing this chapter and I am (sort of anyway) sorry for that. It's just that I feel like there is a lot of stuff they don't address (enough) on the show and as I was writing this chapter I realized I had quite a lot to write about that 'stuff'. **

**There probably will be one chapter after this one to finish the story and I have every intention to make it a bit...lighter / funnier than this one. So what did you think? I really tried to write all the angsty stuff in character and I hope I did an okay-ish job. Tell me all your thoughts (well not all of them, that could become creepy real fast...) in a review!**


	6. 22:30  12:00

**A/N: At last, the final chapter. Blame the season finale for not getting an update sooner because it very nearly killed me. The psychiatrist at the mental institution I checked myself into says I am somewhat mentally stable now though so I could finally finish the story and update. Enjoy!**

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><p>Someone or something was moving on the other end of the door, Shawn was sure of it.<br>He'd been sitting upright in bed for the past 3 minutes, trying to locate the sound that had woke him up and now he had. Well, sort of anyway. For a second he wondered if he should wake up Jules but because she was looking so peaceful whilst asleep he decided against it. He listened intensely, there was the noise again, it sounded like someone was shuffling up and down the hallway.

"Okay Spenstar be brave now." He quietly mumbled to himself, gently stepping out of bed. Grabbing Juliet's bathrobe from the bedroom floor he slowly crept to the door that gave access to the hallway.

Through the sound of his ragged breath he tried to listen at the door and just when he thought he'd maybe just imagined it, he heard the sound again. This time it seemed closer... Shawn grabbed the vase standing on a side table near the door and without waiting another second opened the door, with the vase held above him, ready to strike whomever or whatever was on the other side of the door...

He had not expected to be staring at a now very frightful looking 5 year old.  
>Of course if he had actually remembered Juliet's 5 year old nephew was staying over for the night, the possibility of encountering Jim instead of some highly dangerous criminal had seen more likely.<p>

"Hey buddy." Shawn whispered, quickly composing himself and putting the vase back on the side table and then closing the door.  
>As he closed the door he glanced at Juliet and was relieved to see that at least she was still sleeping.<p>

He then knelt down to be on eye level with Jim: "What's wrong?" He asked in a hushed voice.

"I had a nightmare." Jim said so quietly Shawn could barely make out what he was saying. With a shock Shawn realized that Jim was close to crying, his lips trembling and his breathing irregular.  
>Shawn looked at the door, now desperately wishing Juliet had woken up and was on the same side of the door as he currently was. She'd know what to do. Yet he couldn't bring himself to wake her up in the middle of the night just because her nephew had a nightmare. No, this was something he should be capable of handling himself. Or at the very least try to handle himself.<p>

"Okay okay." Shawn heard himself say. "Just...don't cry okay. Let's talk about this uhm, not here so close to this door here but back in your bed. I'll be right beside you the whole time okay?"  
>He took Jim's hand and gently nudged him to the other end of the hallway, back to the guest room. Jim reluctantly went along with him and went back into bed but during the process never letting go of Shawn's hand.<p>

Shawn sat down on the bedside, absentmindedly stroking Jim's hair while he tried to think of what he should say or do next. It seemed to calm Jim down because it didn't seem like he was closing to bursting out in tears anymore, his breath sounding much more regular.  
>Maybe this was all you needed to do when a five year old had a nightmare, Shawn thought to himself.<p>

Just as Shawn was about to ask Jim if he was alright again and going to sleep, Jim began talking: "Do you ever have nightmares?" He asked in a small voice.

This made Shawn think for a little while, unsure if he should be truthful or not. He finally settled for the first one: "Yes I have." He admitted.

"What are they about?" Jim asked.

A chill went down his spine. They pretty much all involve your aunt getting either kidnapped, mortally injured or dying, usually by the hands of Yang, he thought. But of course he couldn't tell Jim that.

"Why don't you tell me what yours was about?" Shawn hastily suggested.

"There was a big monster in the closet and he wanted to eat me!" Jim blurted out, close to crying again.

"But monsters don't exist, Jim." Shawn said. _At least not the kind you are talking about_, he added as a mental note.

"You don't know that!" Jim objected fiercely. "He could be hiding in the closet right now and the minute I close my eyes he is going to...he is going to..." The rest of Jim's words were impossible to make out because now he was actually crying.

Okay so being truthful and reasonable definitely had not been the best available option, Shawn thought. Which made sense considering he was very much dealing with an irrational, scared 5 year old.

Plus the whole talk about nightmares made him feel uneasy as well. He still had nightmares about the Yin / Yang events quite frequently. And they always ended the same. They always ended with Juliet dying or being close to dying.  
>When he and Juliet hadn't been dating yet and he had such a nightmare he used to lie awake for what seemed like hours, fighting the urge to call her. Just to hear her voice, just to make sure she was okay.<br>Now that they were increasingly spending more nights together, making sure she was okay had gotten easier. If this was the reason the nightmares occurred less often, Shawn did not know. All he knew right now was that he was dealing with a very upset child and him thinking about his own nightmares sure wasn't helping.

Suddenly he remembered something else. Something which might actually prove to be helpful. Without saying anything he let go of Jim's hand and practically stormed out of the guest room.

"Shawn?" Jim sobbed when Shawn had let go of his hand. "I'm here buddy, I'm here." Shawn replied 10 seconds later completely out of breath and grabbing Jim's hand again. He turned on the lamp standing on the nightstand.

Jim blinked against the unexpected brightness, which for a minute made him forget about crying and he looked at Shawn curiously. Shawn was sitting on his bedside again, his arms behind his back.

"I was actually planning on doing this when you leave in the morning." He began a bit awkwardly. "But I suppose now is as good a time as any."

"Here, I want you to have this." He said as he held out both of his hands to Jim.

"Perry!" Jim exclaimed when he recognized what Shawn was holding in front of him.  
>Perry was a stuffed animal and happened to look exactly like Perry from Phineas and Ferb, even the size was comparable. Shawn had found it when they'd been grocery shopping and, knowing Jim's love for the show, he just knew he had to buy it for him. Fortunately it seemed like Jim liked his present a lot because he was stretching out his little arms and when Shawn put Perry in his arms he immediately pushed it against his cheat while petting its head.<p>

"Perry will protect you from things like nightmares and monsters you know." Shawn started.

"He will?" Jim asked suspiciously, but he sounded much calmer again.

"Of course he will. Even when you're sleeping, like I protect aunt Jules."

"But you can't protect her all the time can you?" Jim asked.

_But I wish I could_, Shawn thought wearily. And for the second time in 5 minutes he realized that this conversation was not going as he'd planned. "Maybe I can't." Shawn finally answered, "But I know that Perry can."

"You promise?" Jim asked.

"I promise buddy. Nothing will happen to you as long as Perry is there with you." This seemed to convince Jim because he snuggled Perry even closer and closed his eyes.

Shawn waited a little while until Jim's breathing had become slow and regular before getting up from the bedside. The last image he saw before turning off the light was that of Jim snuggled together with Perry, his eyes closed and a small smile on his face. "Goodnight." Shawn whispered, quietly leaving the room to get back to his own bed. Back to Juliet.

* * *

><p>(...)<p>

It was the sound of a loud crash that yanked Juliet out of a very pleasant dream she'd been having. She groggily opened her eyes and sat upright, trying to find out what had woken her.  
>Looking around the room she couldn't figure out what had made the loud noise, but she did notice a whole lot of other things. For one, her bedroom was truly a mess with pieces of clothing scattered everywhere across the floor and the white drapes that were supposed to hang in front of her window mysteriously missing.<p>

That wasn't the only thing she was missing though, because when she turned her head to look at Shawn she found herself staring at an empty spot beside her. This was also when she noticed the alarm clock. For a second she thought it must be broken because according to the alarm clock it was 10 am. Juliet very rarely slept in while Shawn loved to do nothing but.

This is definitely weird, she thought to herself. It was only then that the thought of Jim crossed her mind. She found it hard to believe that Jim would still be sleeping at 10 am and Shawn was not lying next to her in bed which could only mean...

Another loud crash made her lose her train of thought and this time she thought she could faintly distinguish something like laughter sounding through it as well.  
>She hastily put on her bathrobe and slippers and opened the door to the hallway. Now she could clearly hear laughter and she immediately recognized the sound as to be Shawn's. She quickly made it down the hallway, part of her dreading what she would see the moment she walked into the living room. As soon as she had a clear view on the living room she saw what had happened to the drapes in her bedroom.<p>

Shawn was currently running around in them.

He was closely followed by Jim who was apparently chasing him with some kind of green object in his left hand. By the time Jim had caught up with Shawn, Juliet could finally recognize the object Jim had been holding as Perry from Phineas and Ferb. The rest of the living room was even a greater mess than her bedroom, she noticed with a sigh. Cushions and pillows everywhere, one of her tables had been turned upside down, for which purpose Juliet could only guess, and a box of cereal lay open on the ground, with cereal scattered all around it.

Jim and Shawn didn't seem to notice the disheveled state of the room, being too busy with whatever game they were playing.

Just as Juliet was about to make her presence known, Jim shouted: "Hold it right there Dr. Doofenschmitz. You are under arrest!"

Shawn slowly put his hands above his head "Ah Nein! I guess I have no choice left but to surrender. Unless..."

In a flash Shawn put his hand down and began tickling Jim. A moment later they both collapsed on the nearby couch, Jim laughing and at the same time struggling to get away.

Juliet decided this to be a good time as any to loudly clear her throat.

Two heads turned around simultaneously and while Shawn merely sat down on the couch and smiled at her, Jim sprang up and ran towards her. "Aunt Jules! Look! Me and Perry have captured evil doctor Doofenschmitz."

Juliet did her best to look impressed: "Wow, that truly is a great accomplishment." Just as transforming my living room into a battle field, she thought to herself but she decided not to make a big deal about it.  
>Jim would get picked up by his parents in less than two hours and she didn't want to spend it being mad at Jim.<p>

"I bet my hero is pretty hungry after all the crime-fighting." She said to Jim. "What you say I'm gonna make you some breakfast?" Jim nodded and with Perry still safely tucked against his chest sat down on a kitchen chair.  
>Juliet looked questioningly at Shawn because he didn't follow them to the kitchen but instead remained sitting on the couch.<p>

"Shawn, aren't you coming?" She asked him. Shawn looked sheepishly at her.

"I can't leave this couch, it is a prison you see. I can only get up if Jim and Perry release me."

Juliet couldn't help but chuckling, then tuning to Jim: "What you say we free him so he too can have some breakfast?"

This made Jim think for a little while before saying: "Okay, on one condition. He had to promise not to be evil any more.

"Done!" Shawn happily agreed and sprang up from the couch and, as he sat down, solemnly said: "I hereby promise that from now on I will use my massive intellect solely for the greater good."

"Well I am glad the destruction of my living room has at least served a useful purpose then." Juliet said.

Jim didn't catch the hidden meaning but instead nodded enthusiastically. Shawn on the other hand looked a bit more...remorseful silently undoing the drapes around them and folding them.

* * *

><p>After breakfast it was time to get Jim dressed and pack his stuff.<br>It all went by too quickly, Juliet thought sadly. Shawn and Jim thought so too because they both were remarkably quieter as they brought Jim's bag to the living room to wait for his parents to pick him up.

"Aunt Jules, I don't wanna go." Jim said desperately as the doorbell rang not soon after the three of them had sat down on the couch.

"Aww Jim don't worry, we'll see each other very soon again." Juliet promised him, getting up from the couch.

"Yeah she's right buddy." Shawn agreed, "You can come stay with us whenever you like."

This made Jim smile. "And you'll be there?" Jim asked, sounding hopeful.

"Are you kidding me? Of course I'll be there!"

Actually from now on, I'll pretty much always be here, he thought with a shock. What shocked him more however, was that he didn't feel frightened or trapped by that prospect.  
>He was really looking forward to it, he realized, smiling when Juliet came back into the living room with Jim's mother.<p>

Contrary to what Jim had said before, he looked happy to see his mother, immediately running up to her the second he saw her.

With Jim in her arms, Colleen walked up to Shawn.

"Nice to see you again." She said. "I trust Jim hasn't been too much of a handful for you?" But then for the first time she looked around the living room and she began looking more worried.

"Actually, it was more of the combination of Shawn and Jim that proved to be a handful." Juliet said, but she was smiling as she spoke. "But don't worry about it, I absolutely loved having Jim here."

"Oh yes." Shawn agreed. "It was quite...insightful." He added.

Colleen wanted to reply but a loud honk from a car outside interrupted her.

"That would be my husband." She said apologetically. "He is really anxious to get back home so I guess me and Jim better hurry." She shook Shawn's hand. "It was nice meeting you."

She then turned to Juliet. "We'll talk later okay, I wanna know all about those insights this little guy gave you."

She and Juliet exchanged another meaningful look and not for the first time Shawn wondered exactly how much they had already talked about him.

Suddenly he felt a tug at his shirt and when he looked down Jim was standing before him. "Bye Shawn. It was really nice meeting you." He said dutifully, looking at his mother for approval.

"Bye Jim." Shawn replied. "We'll see each other real soon okay. And remember what I told you about Perry okay?" He added almost in a whisper.

"I will." Jim said seriously.

And then it was time to leave. Shawn and Juliet walked Colleen and Jim to the car and waved at them until the car had disappeared around the corner. And with that Jim was gone.

When they went back inside again Juliet couldn't help but mutter "Oh no, my poor living room" and sigh, looking for where to start cleaning. Suddenly she felt Shawn grabbing her arm and pulling her close to him.

"Don't you mean our living room?" He asked, bringing his face close to hers. "Hmm _our_ living room. I like the sound of it." She muttered, slightly brushing her lips against his. "And not just because that means you have to help me clean too." She added playfully.

She wanted to kiss him but Shawn suddenly pulled away from her kiss, instead beginning to laugh.

"What is it?" She asked confused.

"I'm sorry but I can't help but picturing the look on Lassie's face when we tell him we're moving in together." Shawn said, still laughing.

He looked at Juliet who was laughing with him and in the middle of the messy living room on a Saturday morning Shawn Spencer knew that he had found a home.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Fin. The end. Einde. Das Ende. Finis.  
>I wanna thank everyone who has been reading  reviewing / keeping track of this story. It really means the world to me knowing that what I write is at least somewhat readable and enjoyable. Oh one last thing; if you ever have any suggestions / ideas about what kind of story I should write next, (obviously it has to be at least a little bit Shules related because I just love writing it) please feel free to tell me so in a review or a message. I mean it, don't be shy and talk to me! Again, thank you so much for reading and until next time! **


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